Operating site with an electricity/heat generator which functions on a combustion basis

ABSTRACT

An operating site ( 1 ) with an electricity/heat generator ( 2, 3 ) which functions on a combustion basis, the waste heat of which generator is to some extent used to heat the operating site ( 1 ), wherein the operating site further has at least one thermal treatment chamber ( 20 - 25 ) for the subjecting of products arranged therein to heat and is set up for the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator ( 2, 3 ) to flow directly through the at least one thermal treatment chamber ( 20 - 25 ). In this case, at least one additional heater ( 26 - 32 ) which functions on a combustion basis for heating of the treatment chamber ( 20 - 25 ) is provided and the exhaust gas which flows through the thermal treatment chamber ( 20 - 25 ) and the exhaust gas of the at least one additional heater ( 26 - 32 ) can be fed to a common post treatment.

This application claims priority of German application 102007051474.5filed Oct. 27, 2007.

The present invention relates to an operating site with anelectricity/heat generator which functions on a combustion basis, thewaste heat of which generator is to some extent used to heat theoperating site, wherein the operating site further has at least onethermal treatment chamber for the subjecting of products arrangedtherein to heat.

Operating sites of this type, in which the electricity/heat generatorwhich functions on a combustion basis is used by exploiting theprinciple of power/heat coupling on the one hand to supply at least onepart of the operating site with electrical energy and on the other handto provide ambient and/or process heat, are sufficiently known from theprior art. For example, reference is made to the agricultural sector,where, in corresponding operating sites, electrical energy is producedon the one hand and heating and process heat (e.g. for drying animalfeed in a thermal handling chamber) is produced on the other hand byusing a biogas plant with a gas engine as electricity/heat generator.The waste heat of the biogas plant is, in the process, fed to a heatingcircuit and the thermal treatment chambers via heat exchangers.

In the context of the present invention by contrast one is, inparticular, thinking of those operating sites in which the productsarranged in the thermal treatment chamber—unlike e.g. animal feed—arenot especially sensitive with regard to the chemical composition of theatmosphere prevailing within the thermal treatment chamber. The objectof the present invention consists, in this case, in providing anenergy-efficient operating site of the type mentioned at the beginning,in which a particularly effective thermal treatment of the products isachieved with a high degree of flexibility with regard to the energyflows and with as little expenditure as possible on plant technology.

This object is achieved with an operating site according to Claim 1,which—in addition to the features which have already been mentioned atthe beginning—stands out in particular in that it is set up for theexhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator to flow directly throughthe at least one thermal treatment chamber, wherein at least oneadditional heater which functions on a combustion basis forsupplementary heating of the treatment chamber is provided and whereinthe exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator which flows throughthe thermal treatment chamber and the exhaust gas of the at least oneadditional heater can be fed to a common post treatment.

Flowing the hot exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator directlythrough the treatment chamber means that its thermal energy (heat whichcan be felt) is used in a particularly simple and effective manner. Theexpenditure on plant technology is reduced in comparison with thevariants for producing process heat known from the prior art, as, in thepresent case, no heat exchanger need be provided for this purpose.

Further, the combination of the exhaust gas of the electricity/heatgenerator, which gas flows through the treatment chamber, and of the atleast one additional heater in the thermal treatment chamber means thata particularly effective subjecting of the products to heat which can becontrolled well can be guaranteed, wherein the expenditure on planttechnology is—in comparison with the known methods from the prior artfor power/heat coupling in operating sites—even further minimized, inthat the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator which flowsdirectly through the treatment chamber and the exhaust gas of theadditional heater which likewise functions on a combustion basis are fedto a common post treatment. In the process, it can be provided in anadvantageous manner within the framework of the invention, that the atleast one additional heater “fires” to a certain extent directly intothe treatment chamber, whereby the exhaust gas of the additional heateralso gets directly into the treatment chamber and can be fed to thecommon post treatment with the exhaust gas of the electricity/heatgenerator in a simple manner. Within the framework of the common posttreatment, care is, in particular, to be taken that pollutants that maybe formed in the treatment chamber, such as, for example, fine dust, areeffectively removed in compliance with the relevant valid legalemissions guidelines.

Overall, in the context of the present invention, an operating site withparticularly effective exploitation of the principle of power/heatcoupling is therefore produced. Suitable fans in the treatment chambercan contribute to a targeted and, as far as possible, uniform subjectingof the products to the hot exhaust gases.

In a particularly preferred configuration of the present invention, itis provided that the operating site is a production plant for glassfibre products, wherein the at least one thermal treatment chamberserves for drying the glass fibre products produced in the operatingsite, in particular in the form of glass fibre mats, or is set up forthis purpose. In this context, the realization that drying glass fibreproducts such as glass fibre mats and/or non-wovens with the aid ofpolluted exhaust gas is possible without relevant losses in quality ofthe end product is of importance. In the treatment chamber, glass dustwhich is mixed in with the exhaust gas is removed again from the latterin the context of the exhaust gas post treatment. A gas engine generatorunit represents a preferred type of electricity/heat generator which isparticularly suitable for an operating site according to the invention.

Further, it is provided, in accordance with a preferred development ofthe invention, that at least one controllable valve for regulating thethroughput quantity of the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generatorwhich is to be channelled through the treatment chamber is provided forachieving the desired process temperature in the at least one treatmentchamber, wherein temperature fluctuations of the exhaust gas which isflowing through the treatment chamber that may arise can be compensatedby means of the at least one additional heater. A suitable regulationapparatus is to be provided for this purpose. Thereby, an operating siteis also provided which is optimized with respect to a best possiblecontrollability of the temperature exposure in the treatment chamber.

In a further advantageous configuration of the present invention, it isprovided that a plurality of thermal treatment chambers are provided,each with at least one additional heater, wherein the exhaust gas of theelectricity/heat generator is, by means of suitable distribution andcombining means, distributed to the various treatment chambers andsubsequently combined again for common post treatment with the exhaustgases of the additional heaters. The particular advantage here consistsin the fact that, in an operating site, a number of thermal treatmentchambers can be supplied with the exhaust gas of the at least oneelectricity/heat generator.

In the previously mentioned case, once again in a preferred manner, aseparately controllable or regulatable exhaust gas throughput quantityregulation valve can be provided for each treatment chamber, so that theexact nature of the temperature exposure in each treatment chamber canhereby also be set individually.

The previously mentioned plurality of thermal treatment chambers neednot necessarily be treatment chambers which are spaced apart from oneanother, but rather they may also, if appropriate, be various treatmentzones of a larger treatment chamber, through which the products producedsuccessively pass in the context of their thermal treatment.

And finally, it is preferably provided in the context of the presentinvention that the post treatment of the exhaust gases is a mechanicalor chemical cleaning of the combined exhaust gas stream. A correspondingpost treatment plant therefore only needs to be present once in thecontext of the present invention, which in addition to the planttechnology expenditure also minimizes the corresponding maintenance andservicing expenditure.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in more detailbelow on the basis of the drawing.

An operating site 1 for glass fibre products is illustratedschematically in the drawing—in any case insofar as this is relevant forthe present invention. Two gas engine generator units 2, 3 are availablefor electricity and heat generation, to which—according to the arrows 4,5—the gas provided for combustion is fed. The gas engine generator units2, 3 provide both electrical energy 6 and, via their cooling circuits,waste heat for heating the operating site 1. A heat exchanger 8 isprovided in the usual manner for heating the operating site 1, that isto say for providing ambient heat, which heat exchanger is connected onthe one hand with a conduit system 7 which carries the heated coolingwater of the gas engine generator units 2, 3 and on the other hand witha heating circuit 9 of the operating site in order to heat the latter.Further, preheating the combustion air for the additional heater (seebelow) can also be realized by using a second heat exchanger 10.

The exhaust gases of the two gas engine generator units 2, 3 are, bymeans of a conduit system 11, 12, 13-19, distributed through the wall Wto six different thermal treatment chambers 20-25 and introduceddirectly into the latter. Each treatment chamber 20-25 is assigned atleast one additional heater 26-32 which works on a combustion basis,which additional heater fires directly into the respective treatmentchamber 20-25. In addition, two fans 33 are assigned to each treatmentchamber 20-25 to ensure the desired air and heat flow within therespective treatment chambers or zone 20-25. The thermal treatmentchambers serve as heaters for the subjecting of glass fibre mats to heatin a temperature range of 150° C.-250° C.

Finally, the exhaust gases of the two gas engine generator units 2, 3and the additional heaters 26-32 leave the respective treatment chamberand are combined again by a conduit system 34-41, in order tosubsequently be fed together—according to arrow 42—to a chemicalpost-treatment or cleaning apparatus 43, before they then escape intothe atmosphere.

A separately controllable or regulatable valve 44-49 is connectedupstream of each treatment chamber for regulating the exhaust gasthroughput through the individual treatment chambers 20-25, using whichvalve—in co-operation with the respective additional heaters 26-32—thetemperature in the respective treatment chamber 20-25 can be set to apredeterminable value. Temperature fluctuations of the exhaust gas ofthe electricity/heat generators 2, 3 which may arise are compensated, ifappropriate, by the additional heaters 26-32 which can likewise beregulated in terms of their heating output.

In order to be able to operate the two gas engine generator units 2, 3to provide electrical energy and ambient heat, even when no exhaust gasthroughput through the thermal treatment chambers 20-25 is desired, e.g.during a maintenance period for the treatment chambers 20-25 or in theevent of a fault, the exhaust gases can be diverted out of the conduits11, 12 by means of suitable flow/locking valves 50, 51, 52, 53, via theconduits 54, 55—in accordance with arrow 56—to an emergency chamber 57,where the exhaust gas is preferably subjected to a mechanical exhaustgas cleaning, before it escapes into the atmosphere. Additionally, anexhaust gas reservoir can also, if appropriate, be provided, in which acertain quantity of the exhaust gas produced by the gas engine generatorunits 2, 3 can be stored, in order, after the treatment chambers 20-25have been brought back into use, to feed it again, if appropriate, tothe conduit system 11-19 which leads to the treatment chambers 20-25 andtherefore to the more efficient chemical cleaning.

1. Operating site (1) with an electricity/heat generator (2, 3) whichfunctions on a combustion basis, the waste heat of which generator is tosome extent used to heat the operating site (1), wherein the operatingsite further has at least one thermal treatment chamber (20-25) for thesubjecting of products arranged therein to heat, characterized in thatit is set up for the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2,3) to flow directly through the at least one thermal treatment chamber(20-25), wherein at least one additional heater (26-32) which functionson a combustion basis for supplementary heating of the treatment chamber(20-25) is provided and wherein the exhaust gas which flows through thethermal treatment chamber (20-25) and the exhaust gas of the at leastone additional heater (26-32) can be fed to a common post treatment. 2.Operating site according to claim 1, characterized in that the operatingsite (1) is a production plant for glass fibre products, wherein the atleast one treatment chamber serves for drying the glass fibre productsproduced, in particular in the form of glass fibre mats.
 3. Operatingsite according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least onecontrollable valve (44-49) for regulating the throughput quantity of theexhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2, 3) which is to bechannelled through the treatment chamber (20-25) is provided forachieving the desired process temperature in the at least one treatmentchamber (20-25), wherein temperature fluctuations of the exhaust gaswhich is flowing through the treatment chamber (20-25) that may arisecan be compensated by means of the at least one additional heater(26-32) to achieve a constant temperature in the treatment chamber(20-25).
 4. Operating site according to any one of the preceding claims,characterized in that a plurality of thermal treatment chambers (20-25)are provided, each with at least one additional heater (26-32), whereinthe exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2, 3) is, by means ofsuitable distribution and combining means (11-19; 34-41), distributed tothe various treatment chambers and subsequently combined again forcommon post treatment with the exhaust gases of the additional heaters(26-32).
 5. Operating site according to claim 3 and claim 4,characterized in that for each treatment chamber (20-25), a separatevalve (44-49) for regulating the throughput quantity of the exhaust gasto be channelled through the respective treatment chamber (20-25) isprovided, so that the temperatures in the various treatment chambers(20-25) can be set separately and independently of one another. 6.Operating site according to any one of the preceding claims,characterized in that the post treatment is a mechanical or chemicalcleaning of the exhaust gas.